Where does “arrear” come from?
Arrear comes from Middle English arere, from Old French ariere meaning "behind," from Vulgar Latin ad retro, combining Latin ad- "to" with Latin retro "backward," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "to turn" or "to turn back."
arrear (English): Towards the rear, backwards; Behind time;...
Definitions
- Towards the rear, backwards; Behind time;...
Ancestry of “arrear”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | arere | — |
| 2 | Old French | ariere | Alternative form of arire |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | ad retro | to the rear |
| 4 | Latin | Ad | — |
| 5 | Latin | illic | he, she, it, yonder, that, overthere; in that... |
| 6 | Latin | ille | that; those; "; demonstrative pronoun "; that... |
| 7 | Latin | olle | Archaic form of ille |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *olnos | — |